April 11, 2018

Just received word this morning from a vendor that he's been receiving many texts from someone claiming to be a "Vendor Organizer at Mill City Market" and she needs him to sign documents for her asap. Wanted to drop a line to you all to let you know this is happening to us, which means it's possible a similar scam could be affecting other markets as well.

Scam Alert from City of Minneapolis:

Minneapolis food establishments should be aware of a scam perpetrated on food establishments in Hennepin County. Businesses should be on alert.

Minneapolis health inspectors will never accept direct payments. All payments to the City of Minneapolis are made to "Minneapolis Finance." If you have questions, call 311 (612-673-3000 outside Minneapolis) and ask to speak with Environmental Health.

Several restaurant owners have received phone calls reportedly from the County Health Department. The caller states that there are illness complaints against the restaurant, and the caller demands a small credit card payment to cover the cost of the special inspection that supposedly will be forthcoming. If the owner does provide their credit card number, the caller may then tell the owner the credit card data provided didn’t work and demand a second credit card number. This is an illegal ploy to gain access to your financial accounts.

If you receive such a call, or have fallen victim to this scam, please notify the Minnesota Attorney General’s office at 651-296-3353. To make a Minneapolis non-emergency police report, call 311 (612-673-3000 outside Minneapolis) or submit an online police report.